By now, most everyone has heard of my project in Utah. I travel there about every two months to check on its progress, but I have never posted any pictures of it. I have included pictures in a slide show (there are a lot, be patient) from my most recent visit to the project and I also included a few from past trips so that you can observe the progress. If you are not in to historic renovations this post may not interest you, but it has become a huge passion of mine and I wanted to share it with everyone.
The home was built in the 1920's on what is considered historical 25th Street in Ogden. The entire street is on the historical registry and the street ends at Union Station, built in 1869 for pacific union railroads. Ogden has had a long history for being the "armpit" of Utah, but over the past several years several ski companies and big investors have come in and are changing the face of Ogden. It is becoming a ski hub, much like Park City has become. You are within 20 minutes of 2 ski resorts.
A investor purchased the home two years ago, and shortly afterwards the entire house was flooded from the radiators bursting. I was brought on to the project in August of last year as the designer and my first big project on my own and out of school! The home was completely gutted, meaning there wasn't a single interior wall left (with the exception of a few 2x4's put up for support of the upper floor). We then rearranged the floor plan and began to develop the look of the home, which would be in keeping with a 1920's Bungalow.
I had the privilege to design the layout of the kitchen and all bathrooms and specify all materials for the home. From the levers on the toilet, to the custom front door, to the crown molding and trim work, to the columns, fireplace, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, doors, hardware, tile, paint colors, staircase design, counter tops, wood floors, and much more. Unfortunately, we were only able to keep a few of the homes original items. These include windows, one radiator, and the original front door. Everything else was replaces new.
We received a full price offer on the home ($635,000) about half way through the project and I then began working with the client on what they both desired. This last visit was basically the final walk through on the job and to discuss the furniture with the new owner. The home should be complete in about 3 more weeks after an extensive Japanese-type landscaping package is installed and all of the finishing touches are completed or corrected. The mirror trims will be painted white, all of the walk ways, front porch patio, and driveway will be repaired and stained (much like the pictures of the patio in the slide show above), fireplace mantel will be lowered and trimmed out around the face of the tile, The exterior will be power washed one last time and the exterior trim work painted and touched-up, and a few other miscellaneous items to complete the look.
We are in the process of trying to get it in a few magazines such as This Old House, Home, Utah Style and Design, Kitchen and Bath Ideas, ect. The investor owns about 50 more of these 1920's homes in Ogden and we plan to start on the next one soon. There is something very challenging about doing historical restorations/renovations that I love. It requires a lot of thought and research to find the right items that would be in keeping with the time period and overall look of the home. For the first few months after closing the house will become a model home in a sense, that people can see what we can do to these older homes to make them more efficient for today's lifestyle. We also hope to get buyers on a few of the next homes that we plan to renovate.
The entire job was a HUGE learning process for me and a wonderful opportunity. I am anxiously looking forward to the next one. Please let me know what you think, good or bad! What is your favorite room or area of the home? What would you do differently?
P.S. As a note the coloration in the pictures is very weird, I didn't have my tripod when I took the images and thus I had to use my flash, altering the coloration of the room. Tile that is green looks gray, walls that are soft yellow or green look white. Sorry.
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When Dave got home he was holding him and rubbing the underside of one of his feet and he looked like the most content little guy you had ever seen. We let him go the next day, although I was a little sad to see him go. But I am sure there will be another that I can save from a terrible fate and bring home for a day (After all, I already have the food)!
